German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has urged Europe to seize control of its data from Silicon Valley tech giants, in an intervention that the Financial Times says highlights the EU’s growing willingness to challenge the US dominance of the digital economy.

Key speakers on Europe

Adam Kinsley

Antonio López-Istúriz White

Ben Wreschner

Bushra Hasnain

Celene Craig

Charlotte Holloway

Talks on Europe

The European Commission has approved, under EU state aid rules, €300 million of public support for Greece's ultrafast broadband infrastructure scheme, which aims to provide broadband services to customers in areas with insufficient connectivity.

Industry body the GSMA has argued that the European Commission (EC) has ignored innovation and choice after the body backed the adoption of Wi-Fi technology in connected cars over cellular connectivity, notes Mobile World Live.

A proposal by the UK’s security agency, GCHQ, that would enable eavesdropping on encrypted chat services has been condemned as a “serious threat” to digital security and human rights, reports the Guardian. “In an open letter signed by more than 50 companies, civil society organisations and security experts – including Apple, WhatsApp, Liberty and Privacy International – GCHQ was called on to abandon its so-called ‘ghost protocol’, and instead focus on ‘protecting privacy rights, cybersecurity, public confidence, and transparency’.

Plans to introduce a nationwide age verification system for online pornography have been abandoned by the UK government after years of technical troubles and concerns from privacy campaigners, reports the Guardian.

The 5G Media Action Group (5G-MAG), a new association designed to give the media industry a voice in the 5G debate, has elected its first steering group and chair at the association’s inaugural general assembly on 16 October.

A joint paper by the French Competition Authority (Autorité de la concurrence) and the German Competition Authority (Bundeskartellamt) on data and competition, provides background on the approach to data likely to be taken by two of the most active competition authorities in the EU, a blog at Bird & Bird notes.

The EU legislator has proposed banning mandatory non-personal data localisation to help unlock the data economy. While facilitating the free flow of such data within the EU is laudable, the proposal has a number of shortcomings, writes CATHAL FLYNN.

What is the status of international copyright reform in the digital age? TED SHAPIRO contrasts efforts at the World Intellectual Property Organisation with ongoing reform in the EU as part of the digital single market initiative.

Can broadcasting make the step into an increasingly mobile world? Roland Beutler discusses technology and business models in the context of public service remits, mobile network operators and the new world of 5G.October 2016, Volume 44 Issue 03

Highlights of the review of Europe’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive are explored by Lorna Woods. Changes in how video-sharing platforms are judged could have major global implications for service providers.July 2016, Volume 44 Issue 02

As more people, especially the less well off, have only a smartphone to access the internet, there are signs that a new type of digital divide could develop. Ofcom’s Alison Preston describes new research carried out in the UK.July 2016, Volume 44 Issue 02

How can network operators and service providers settle value for their wares in a converged world, where services are network agnostic? sumit sharma presents a bargaining framework that could unite all players in a ‘game’April 2016, Volume 44 Issue 01

As more people, especially the less well off, have only a smartphone to accessthe internet, there are signs that a new type of digital divide could develop.Ofcom’s Alison Preston describes new research carried out in the UK

As the OECD prepares for a ministerial meeting on the digital economy, Jørgen Abild Andersen argues that the highest level of coordination among many government departments is needed to deliver its aims

The hype about the next generation of mobile technology is likely to gather pace in the next few years, but currently there is a lot of scepticism about whether it qualifies as an integrated, great leap in progress, as Marc Beishon finds in this round-up.July 2016, Volume 44 Issue 02

As regulators start to fundamentally review their remits, Chris Chapman, the incoming president of the IIC and chair of Australia’s ACMA, details the extent of digital disruption and possible regulatory response, in this two-part article.January 2016, Volume 43 Issue 04

The modern sharing economy is small but growing - and enabled by the internet. John Ure discusses its possible impact and where regulation may be heading, with particular reference to Asia.March 2015, Volume 43 Issue 01

Continuing our coverage of spectrum auctions, Stefan Zehle explores further the pitfalls and implications for the public purse, drawing on key examples from the past decade.March 2015, Volume 43 Issue 01

Andrus Ansip (left), European commissioner leading the digital single market project team, and Günther Oettinger, commissioner for the digital economy and society, at the strategy launch in May.June 2015, Volume 43 Issue 02

The victory for net neutrality for pressure groups such as Credo owes much to President Obama. And a paper from the Berkman Center for Internet and Society finds that “the net neutrality debate is the first major example of a successful campaign to achieve an affirmative rule change in the teeth of well-organised lobbying opposition”.March 2015, Volume 43 Issue 01

Many countries are keen to foster policies that help develop world class ICT centres. To this end, GIUDITTA DE PRATO and DANIEL NEPELSKI describe a European project that maps and measures ICT ‘poles of excellence’.March 2015, Volume 43 Issue 01

The pressure on terrestrial broadcasters to give spectrum to the mobile sector shows no sign of letting up. Roland Beutler, at Germany's Südwestrundfunk, a regional public broadcaster, puts his side of the debate.September 2015, Volume 43 Issue 03

Nations tend to keep a closer hold of telecoms industry regulation than in other sectors, even in Europe. It’s why the UK’s imminent exit from the European Union won’t impact its telecoms sector too much, as IAN WALDEN explains.

Europe has fallen behind in the ‘4th industrial revolution’ and the digital economy. The need for digital industrial policy is recognised but, as HARALD GRUBER describes, policymakers need to work quickly to correct market failures.

Where cables land: a still from an impressive animation by Business Insider on submarine cables around the world, produced from TeleGeography's Submarine Cable Map, a free resource that allows data to be downloaded.September 2015, Volume 43 Issue 03

Pai was appointed as a commissioner by Barack Obama in 2012. Among his views: “Given how rapidly the communications sector is changing, the FCC should do everything it can to ensure that its rules reflect the realities of the current marketplace and basic principles of economics.”

We got there in the end: The European Commission makes a big point about ‘roam like at home’, the end of mobile roaming charges in the European Union on 15 June, a ban that has taken ten years to negotiate.

In part two of his extensive analysis of regulatory and competition law organisation, PETER ALEXIADIS discusses the rise of the ‘super-regulator’, regulatory independence, and centralised vs local organisation, with the EU as the key reference.

Though AI can generate economic growth, and help solve the world’s biggest challenges, the newly appointed European Commission accepts it also needs to deal with the ‘risks’ the new technology brings, writes The Parliament Magazine’s Rajnish Singh.

Inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, unveiled the World Wide Web Foundation’s global plan of action, Contract for the Web, at the United Nations Internet Governance Forum in Berlin on 25 November.

German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has urged Europe to seize control of its data from Silicon Valley tech giants, in an intervention that the Financial Times says highlights the EU’s growing willingness to challenge the US dominance of the digital economy.

Ofcom has announced that Jonathan Oxley will become interim chief executive while the process to appoint a permanent chief executive continues. He will take on the role at the end of November, when Sharon White leaves, reports Mobile News.

The 5G Media Action Group (5G-MAG), a new association designed to give the media industry a voice in the 5G debate, has elected its first steering group and chair at the association’s inaugural general assembly on 16 October.

A joint memorandum of the Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg (Benelux) competition authorities has highlighted challenges faced by competition authorities in a digital world. They say they cannot address all the challenges faced by competition authorities and focus on merger control, the need for guidance in fast moving digital markets, and the debate on an ex ante instrument providing for binding commitments without the establishment of an infringement.

BEREC, the European regulators body, has issued a draft update to its net neutrality guidelines, adopted in 2016, that have been now been renamed as the BEREC Guidelines on the Implementation of the Open Internet Regulation.

Germany’s Federal Network Agency, Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA), is consulting on a revision of the catalogue of security requirements for operating telecoms and data processing systems and for processing personal data. “It is essential to protect information and communication systems against threats. The updated security requirements for telecommunications networks and services play an important role in this,” said Jochen Homann, BNetzA president.

Plans to introduce a nationwide age verification system for online pornography have been abandoned by the UK government after years of technical troubles and concerns from privacy campaigners, reports the Guardian.

Germany’s authorities and the country’s mobile operators have agreed to legally binding coverage targets in return for extended payment terms for the acquisition of 5G spectrum licences, reports Mobile World Live.

The European Commission has approved, under EU state aid rules, €300 million of public support for Greece's ultrafast broadband infrastructure scheme, which aims to provide broadband services to customers in areas with insufficient connectivity.

France’s communications regulator, Arcep, has brought together more than 20 representatives of national authorities from 15 European Union member states to outline the planned terms and procedure for awarding spectrum in the 3490–3800 GHz band in metropolitan France, and to elicit their feedback.

A commission of experts on “competition law 4.0”, set up by Germany’s Peter Altmaier, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, and chaired by Martin Schallbruch, Heike Schweitzer and Achim Wambach, has presented its recommendations for a new competition framework for the digital economy to the minister.

The next president of the European Commission has steeled Europe for battles with Donald Trump over trade and tech regulation, handing more powers to the bloc’s top antitrust enforcer and urging Brussels to be robust in dealing with global rivals including China, reports the Financial Times.

Several French regulators – the competition authority, AMF, Arafer, Arcep, CNIL, CRE and CSA – have held a meeting to draw up a memorandum on data-driven regulation, which they say “creates the ability to make stakeholders more accountable, increases the regulator’s capacity for analysis and makes more information available to users and civil society”.

The European Commission has launched the pilot phase of its ethics guidelines for trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI). At the first AI Alliance Assembly, held in Brussels, the High-Level Expert Group on AI announced two developments, including an assessment list for trustworthy AI, developed by a group of 52 independent experts.

A 19 month project with over 190 expert missions to Georgia comprising Lithuanian, German and Polish experts has helped define secondary legislation and guidelines on communications in line with EU standards for the country.

Britain’s Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has called for a new, independent regulator that can play “a crucial role in building trust in the digital economy”. It says that current proposals risk falling short of the UK government’s ambition to be the best and safest place to build a digital business.

On 13 June 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU“) published its ruling on the classification of Gmail in the EU following a request for a preliminary ruling from the German Courts. Gmail is a web-based email service, and is a type of “Over-The-Top” (“OTT”) service.

A proposal by the UK’s security agency, GCHQ, that would enable eavesdropping on encrypted chat services has been condemned as a “serious threat” to digital security and human rights, reports the Guardian. “In an open letter signed by more than 50 companies, civil society organisations and security experts – including Apple, WhatsApp, Liberty and Privacy International – GCHQ was called on to abandon its so-called ‘ghost protocol’, and instead focus on ‘protecting privacy rights, cybersecurity, public confidence, and transparency’.

Hadopi, the France’s copyright agency, and Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (CSA), France’s media regulator, have conducted a joint study on the connected speaker market, which is an issue for both institutions. These issues are also of interest to other regulatory authorities, including telecoms regulator, ARCEP, the competition authority, and CNIL, the data privacy agency, which contributed to the work.

The European Court of Justice (EJC) has ruled that Skype and similar voice over internet (VoIP) communications providers are subject to rules governing electronic communications services in some cases, following a dispute between the company and the Belgian telecoms regulator, notes Mobile World Live.

Everyone in the UK will have the legal right to request a decent and affordable broadband connection from March next year, the regulator, Ofcom, has confirmed. “We are implementing the UK government’s ‘universal broadband service’ – a safety net that will give eligible homes and businesses a legal right to request a decent connection.

The EU should be “ready to act” should social values such as “privacy, freedom and fairness” be under threat from expanding digital monopolies, the bloc’s competition chief, Margrethe Vestager, has said, reports EurActiv.

On 5 June 2019, the Court of Justice of the EU ("CJEU") published its ruling on the classification of SkypeOut in the EU following a request for a preliminary ruling from the Belgian Courts. Skype is a Voice over IP service ("VoIP") whereas the SkypeOut component is an interconnected VoIP service that allows the service to dial out to landline and mobile numbers.

The Centre on Regulation in Europe (CERRE) has published “Market definition and market power in the platform economy”, which provides guidance on how to define markets and on how to assess market power when dealing with two-sided platforms.

A report submitted to the French Secretary of State for Digital Affairs, and titled “Creating a French framework to make social media platforms more accountable: Acting in France with a European vision”, recommends that French authorities should have more access to Facebook’s algorithms to audit its policies on hate speech.

Sharon White, chief executive of Ofcom, the UK regulator, has said that the small number of equipment suppliers has created systemic risks to the country’s networks that may need to be addressed with regulation. She made the remarks amid tensions with the US over whether Britain will permit equipment from Chinese vendor Huawei to be used for next-generation 5G telecom services, reports Bloomberg.

Dutch regulator, ACM, plans to work on two themes concerning 5G, reports Telecompaper: the application of net neutrality and infrastructure sharing. “A spokesperson for the ACM said the application of net neutrality raises important questions for 5G and infrastructure sharing will become relevant again once operators start rolling out 5G networks.

Arcep, France’s regulator, has published a draft decision for public consultation on implementing an application programming interface (API), to be installed directly in operators’ boxes, for measuring the quality of fixed internet services.

Russian lawmakers have established “digital rights” in domestic law as the basis for the digital economy, and have also introduced a package of bills to tackle fake news, reports the Global Legal Post.

The FTTH Council Europe has released a new study on copper switch-off and transition to fibre. It analyses the different stages of copper switch-off in 10 European Union member states and identifies benefits as well as enablers, incentives, challenges and barriers to switching from copper to fibre networks.

Industry body the GSMA has argued that the European Commission (EC) has ignored innovation and choice after the body backed the adoption of Wi-Fi technology in connected cars over cellular connectivity, notes Mobile World Live.

BBC director-general Tony Hall has called for streamers and broadcasters to face the same regulation and highlighted what he says is the greater reach of the “pubcaster” compared with online rivals like Netflix, C21Media reports.

Tech giants have become increasingly dominant and ministers must open the market up to increase consumer choice and give people greater control over their data, an independent review for the UK government has advised.

The UK’s House of Lords has called for the creation of a digital super-regulator to oversee the different bodies charged with safeguarding the internet and replace the “clearly failing” system of self-regulation by big technology companies, reports the Guardian.

On the 4th February a call-for-tender was published by the Agcom, the Italian Authority for Communications, related to the “Young scholar” category of the Antonio Preto Prize, jointly organized with the IIC Italy Chapter.

The UK government has issued a statement of strategic priorities (SSP) to provide the regulator, Ofcom, with context and guidance about the government’s policy priorities and desired outcomes in relation to telecoms, the management of radio spectrum and postal services.

Nearly 3 years after the EU net neutrality regulations came into effect, neither service providers nor national regulators have been role models in following the rules, a report has concluded, notes Telecoms.com.

A survey commissioned by the NSPCC, a UK child protection charity, reveals that 9 out of 10 parents support the regulation of social networks to make them legally responsible for protecting children, and 6 out of 10 adults do not think social networks protect children from sexual grooming and inappropriate content like self-harm and suicide.

The final report in the UK of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee’s 18-month investigation into disinformation and fake news has accused Facebook of purposefully obstructing its inquiry and failing to tackle attempts by Russia to manipulate elections, reports the Guardian.

Responding to requests from Sunrise and Salt, the Switzerland’s Federal Communications Commission (ComCom) has reviewed the prices charged for the regulated telecoms services offered by the incumbent, Swisscom.

A review by Dame Frances Cairncross into the sustainability of high-quality journalism in the UK has been published, making proposals “designed to encourage new models to emerge, with the help of innovation not just in technology but in business systems and journalistic techniques”.

The EU Electronic Communications Code (EECC) is a new directive consolidating and reforming the framework for the regulation of electronic communications services and networks across the EEA. Member states must adapt their existing telecommunications regulations in accordance with the EECC by 2020.

The advocate general of the European Court of Justice has given his opinion on the “right to be forgotten” conflict between France and Google, and the opinion is relatively simple: France does not have the right to impose its own considerations on a company which operates outside its jurisdiction, notes Telecoms.com.

A recent paper by British academics from Southampton University claims that the internet is splitting into four distinct governance entities. They say that the internet is a fragile construction of hardware, software, standards and databases and is run by an ever-expanding range of private and public actors constrained only by voluntary protocols and subject to political pressure.

A test by noyb, a European non-profit organisation for privacy enforcement, shows violations of privacy law by most streaming services. In more than 10 test cases was able to identify violations of Article 15 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by companies including Amazon, Apple, DAZN, Spotify and Netflix, and it has filed 10 strategic complaints against 8 companies.

Deutsche Telekom has become the latest operator to file a lawsuit against the conditions for participating in Germany’s 5G mobile spectrum auction, which is scheduled to take place in the spring, notes TeleGeography.

As of Dec. 21, 2020, the obligations of the current ePrivacy Directive will apply to instant messaging applications, email, internet phone calls and personal messaging provided through social media — collectively, over-the-top services — in addition to traditional telecom providers.

ANCOM, Romania’s regulator, has launched for public consultation an “action plan” for 2019, with Sorin Grindeanu, ANCOM’s president, saying: “New challenges lie ahead of ANCOM in 2019, with the organisation of the 5G auction as a main project.

European negotiators have reached a political agreement on proposed copyright legislation on TV and radio programmes. The new rules will make it easier for European broadcasters to make certain programmes available on their live TV or catch-up services online, and will simplify the distribution of more radio and TV channels by retransmission operators.

BEREC, the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications, has released a number of documents and consultations, including its “highly anticipated” opinion on the EU net neutrality regulation and guidelines.

The 2018 Internet Governance Forum (IGF) held in Paris recently saw the first appearance at the annual event of a UN secretary general, and also a speech by Emmanuel Macron, in which he said the internet is “profoundly threatened” by cyber attacks, hate speech and disinformation, and by the internet giants.

The European Commission (EC) has published a plan prepared with member states to foster the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) in Europe. It focuses on four areas: increasing investment, making more data available, fostering talent and ensuring trust.

The European Council has given final sign-off on the EU’s Electronic Communications Code, which imposes price caps, tougher security procedures and spectrum allocation rules that will enhance 5G deployment, notes mobile World Live.

On 6 November 2018, the Council of the European Union formally adopted the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), reports Lexology. “This closes a long, and at some moments, tense and conflictual process started in May 2016,...

The LSE Truth, Trust and Technology Commission at the London School of Economics has published a report, “Tackling the information crisis”, in which the key proposal is for an independent platform agency for the UK that would be a watchdog – rather than a regulator...

Belgium’s ethics committee for the telecoms sector, which regulates the use of premium numbers and paid SMS services, has issued just five sanctions from a total of 1,109 complaints received in the past five years, notes Telecompaper.

The GSMA, the body for mobile operators, has welcomed the German government’s decision to release the entire 3.4 to 3.8 GHz band (C-band), essential for the future development of 5G services globally. But it warns that some of the currently proposed conditions on the allocation of these frequencies may slow Germany’s 5G future.

French president Emmanuel Macron has insisted that new laws are needed to limit and protect online content and the internet itself, reports the Register. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Paris, Macron made repeated calls for additional regulation, and complained about the “false alternative” of self-regulation or government control.

The European Parliament has voted in favour of establishing the European Electronic Communications Code and an enhanced mandate for the body of European regulators (BEREC), as proposed by the European Commission in September 2016, as part of the digital single market strategy.

The UK Chancellor has requested an independent review and consultation from an expert panel on the state of competition in the digital economy, to consider what the opportunities and challenges are for policy, both in the UK and internationally.

Ofcom, the UK regulator, has received £700k from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to explore how blockchain technology could improve how UK landline telephone numbers are managed.

Giovanni Buttarelli, the European Data Protection Supervisor, has written that a “swarm of misinformation and misunderstanding surrounds the case for revising our rules on the confidentiality of electronic communications, otherwise known as e-privacy.

Europe’s telecoms CEOs have issued their latest vision for Europe’s next policy agenda, via the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association (ETNO), highlighting that with 5G and artificial intelligence (AI) at the doorstep, “the network and services landscape is about to be revolutionised.

Online platforms and the advertising industry have sent individual roadmaps to European commissioner for digital economy and society, Mariya Gabriel, which will put in practice a self-regulatory code of practice to fight online disinformation, which was published on 26 September 2018.

The European Commission is set to approve rules for the use of Wi-Fi in cars, giving Volkswagen and Renault who have pursued this technology the edge over Daimler and others who invested in rival 5G networks, reports Reuters.

UK ministers have started drafting proposals for new laws to regulate social media and the internet, according to the Daily Telegraph. “The move has been prompted by widespread consumer concerns over a range of online harms including child abuse, bullying, fake news and internet addiction.

The West Midlands region has been selected to become the home to the UK’s first multicity 5G testbed. The UK government says the multimillion pound trial of high speed connectivity will pave the way for the future rollout of 5G across the UK, making the region the first in the UK ready to trial new 5G applications and services at scale.

Germany, seeking to rein in internet giants like Google and Facebook, plans to bolster the powers of its competition watchdog to prevent such companies from becoming monopolies even before they achieve scale, reports Reuters.

Controversial new copyright laws have been approved by members of the European Parliament, with changes made since July when the first version of the copyright directive was voted down. But critics say it remains problematic, reports the BBC.

Professor Madeleine de Cock Buning Chairs the High Level Expert Group advising the EU Commission on Fake News and online disinformation and is Chair of The Regulatory Authority to the Media in the Netherlands.

Amid concerns about increasingly sophisticated online threats, Singapore and France have pledged to beef up cooperation on cybersecurity and exchange ideas on regulatory approaches to safeguarding user data in the digital sphere.

European data regulators have torn up the latest proposal by internet overseer ICANN over its Whois data service, sending the organisation back to the drawing board for a third time, notes the Register.

Three major internet service providers in the UK have said they would back a regulator to oversee rules for web giants – but warned lawmakers not to forget smaller firms or the bigger picture, reports the Register.

Romania's telecoms authority, Ancom, has opened a consultation on a draft decision for setting the maximum tariffs to be charged on operators exercising the right of access to state-owned public property, notes Telecompaper.

Germany’s top telecoms regulator has set its sights on US technology groups such as Google and Facebook, insisting that providers of messaging and email services should be regulated just like ordinary telecoms companies, reports the Financial Times.

The chief executive of UK regulator Ofcom, Sharon White, has warned regulatory action may be on its way for social media sites that publish news, in a move that brings the platform or publisher debate to the fore.

On 6 June 2018, the EU Council and Parliament reached a political agreement on the EECC. The EU Commission’s legal services will now finalise the text of the EECC to reflect this political agreement. Formal adoption and publication of the EECC in the Official Journal of the European Union are expected in December 2018.

Italy’s 5G spectrum auction plans have been cast into doubt as reports emerged that broadcasters have launched a legal appeal against rules for vacating the 700 MHz band, while separately the country’s mobile operators were tipped to boycott the whole process, notes Mobile World Live.